1. I Prospered

The black leaves on the ground shatter as I slowly wander over them, almost turning to ashes. The sole of my shoe like red hot fire, burning them to the stake. My long trailing jacket glides effortlessly over the surface of the hard, moist ground. My head jerks to the right as I catch a glimpse of a shadow hovering beside me, in this deserted forest you never know what faces lie in the trees, whether it’s a child or a mother, a huntsman or a wicked witch. I hold a crooked basket in my hand full of fresh produce from the market; I take a 40 minute journey there and back every day. My most important piece of food is an apple. Approaching, the castle that lies ahead I stare at the old, forbidden walls that hold it together, the cracks create a home for all sorts of creatures. One window is left in tatters, the wood disintegrating, crumbling down to the ground. The material in the window is torn to shreds by what people say is a monster, a monster from hell. A monster who deserves to be killed. Green ivy spirals around the tower that soars high in the sky, its hands tighten around the never ending staircase of bricks not ever loosening its grip.

I approach the large wooden door and I knock 3 times, the sound of the metal knocker bashing against the wood echoes through the forest so loud that even the birds in the trees stop singing. I knock another 3 times, no answer. I look upwards and in the tower is a small triangular shaped window. I hear a faint singing sound.

‘Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the beast.’ I had heard many myths that a beautiful girl whose name meant beauty was kept imprisoned in this castle, with all but a mirror to see the outside world. People had told me that she had beautiful long brown hair that she would often spend hours and hours brushing each and every strand.

I speak softly and slowly. ‘The girl whose name means Beauty please let down your hair.’ The singing suddenly stopped. A young girl approached the window. Her gaze widened as she saw me standing below her, not knowing whether to trust me she hesitated before finally letting down her hair. A long ladder of hair was placed down the side of the castle. The strands were as soft as silk. I started to climb.

‘You look hungry my dear child, here eat this.’ I pulled out the apple from my crooked basket; it was as red as the blood that would never run through Beauty’s veins, once she had ate the apple. She took a bite and plundered to the ground, her skin turned cold, so cold it ran straight through my bones. Her eyes were now black, as black as the sky which was now full of thunder. The apple was now rotten to the core; it lay beside the corpse of the girl, who would never see daylight again.

I glided over the still body and stole her identity; I transformed myself into beauty, putting myself into the shoes of yet another disguise. Slowly climbing down the staircase, the monster was sitting in a chair in front of a burning fire. The flames a radian orange like Tiger’s fur. In my jacket I held a dagger.

‘Belle?’

‘No its Snow White’ my true identity was revealed as I wanted my face to be the last one he saw.

I pushed the dagger deep into the fur of the beast. The fur turned to skin as the prince I once loved was revealed. The wound oozed with thick blood; as he inhaled his last ever breathe. I ran my cold, numb fingers over his face; his blood was now on my hands, all that was left was me and a magnificent castle; I prospered.